Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Diamond Certification Series - 20-29 Million Copies

The RIAA establishes Diamond Certification for an album achieving 10+ million copies sold.

In this third and final post in the three-part series, I am featuring artists achieving not only Diamond Certification but also true Diamond worthy 20 to 29 million albums in sales.

Note - This post is likewise a long one.

Bon Jovi leads the 20 to 29 million albums in sales list with 28 million copies of Slippery When Wet sold.

Bon jovi slippery when wet.jpg

Slippery When Wet Background -
- Third studio album
- Released in 1986
- Most notable songs:
"You Give Love a Bad Name" 
"Livin' on a Prayer"
"Wanted Dead or Alive" 

Genres considered - Hard rock, Glam metal

Slippery When Wet Success -
- No. 1 on Billboard 200
- Best selling album
- "one of the top 100 best-selling albums in the United States"
- Certified in 10 countries (including the U.S.)
1 Gold, 4 Platinum, 3 Multi-Platinum, and 1 Diamond
Diamond in the U.S. but listed as 12x Platinum (12 million in sales)

(Source - Wikipedia)

In the 20 to 29 million copies in sales list, Michael Jackson is listed twice - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995) and Off the Wall (1979).  Both achieved 20 million copies in sales.

Point of intrigue - Throughout the Diamond Certification series, Michael Jackson is listed a total of five times - Thriller in the lead with 66 million copies, two albums in the 30 to 39 million range, and two albums in the 20 to 29 million range.  In the world of music, I am certain that many will know where they were the day Michael Jackson died.

Whitney Houston ends the 20 to 29 million copies list with exactly 20 million copies of her album, Whitney, sold.

Whitney Houston - Whitney (album).jpg

Whitney Background -
- Second studio album
- Released in 1987

Whitney Success -
- Debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200 
First album by a female artist ... Fifth album by a solo artist
- 4 singles from Whitney reached No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100
- 3 singles from her debut album, Whitney Houston, reached No. 1 
- In total, "they established an unprecedented seven consecutive number one hits by a performer, surpassing the Beatles and the Bee Gees" (Wikipedia)
- Certified in 16 countries (including the U.S.)
Million (Japan), 7 Platinum, 7 Multi-Platinum
Diamond in the U.S. but listed as 9x Platinum (9,857,000 in sales)
20 million sales worldwide

Honors -
American Black Achievement Awards - 1 Win, 1 Nomination
American Music Awards - 4 Wins, 1 Nomination
Billboard Music Awards - 2 Wins, 18 Nominations
BRAVO Magazine's Bravo Otto Awards - 1 Win
BRIT Awards - 2 Nominations
The Garden State Music Awards - 7 Wins
Grammy Awards - 1 Win, 3 Nominations
NAACP Image Awards - 1 Nomination
People's Choice Awards - 2 Wins
RIAA Awards - 13 Wins
Soul Train Music Awards - 1 Win, 2 Nominations

(Source - Wikipedia)

Personal note - Whitney Houston's passing is a forever devastating loss in the music industry and pop culture, both historic and modern.  Please consider her background on Wikipedia.

(The full 20 to 29 million copies list can be found on Wikipedia.)

My take away -
The list of 20 to 29 million copies is seemingly endless with 15 artists alone achieving 20 million.  There truly is no one way to narrow the focus.  And so to conclude this post and the series, "honor" is the best word to describe every artist on all three lists.





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